# 1971–72 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

The 1971–72 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. Their head coach was Bobby Knight, who was in his 1st year. The team played its home games in the newly constructed Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 17–8 and a conference record of 9–5, finishing 3rd in the Big Ten Conference. Missing out on the NCAA Tournament, Indiana was invited to play in the National Invitation Tournament; however, the Hoosiers lost in the first round, bringing Knight's first season to an end.

## Roster

| No. | Name | Position | Ht. | Year | Hometown |
| 20 | Frank Wilson | G | 6–3 | Jr. | Bluffton, Indiana |
| 22 | Bootsie White | G | 5–8 | Jr. | Hammond, Indiana |
| 23 | Steve Heiniger | G | 5–10 | So. | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| 24 | Dave Shepherd | G | 5–11 | So. | Carmel, Indiana |
| 32 | Steve Downing | C | 6–8 | Jr. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 33 | Jerry Memering | F/C | 6–7 | Jr. | Vincennes, Indiana |
| 42 | John Ritter | F | 6–5 | Jr. | Goshen, Indiana |
| 43 | Rick Ford | F | 6–5 | Sr. | Cloverdale, Indiana |
| 44 | Joby Wright | F | 6–8 | Sr. | Savannah, Georgia |
| 54 | Kim Pemberton | G | 6–3 | Jr. | Osgood, Indiana |

## Schedule/Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 12/1/1971* | | Ball State | W 84–77 | 1–0 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/4/1971* | | Miami | W 65–50 | 2–0 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/6/1971* | | No. 14 Kansas | W 59–56 | 3–0 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/11/1971* | | vs. No. 7 Kentucky Indiana–Kentucky rivalry | W 90–89 $^{2OT}$ | 4–0 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| 12/15/1971* | No. 12 | at Ohio | L 70–79 | 4–1 | Convocation Center Athens, Ohio |
| 12/18/1971* | No. 12 | Notre Dame | W 94–29 | 5–1 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/22/1971* | No. 8 | at Butler | W 85–74 | 6–1 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 12/28/1971* | No. 7 | vs. No. 8 BYU Old Dominion Classic | W 61–50 | 7–1 | Hampton Coliseum Norfolk, Virginia |
| 12/29/1971* | No. 7 | at Old Dominion Old Dominion Classic | W 88–86 | 8–1 | Hampton Coliseum Norfolk, Virginia |
| 1/4/1972* | No. 5 | at Northern Illinois | L 71–85 | 8–2 | Chick Evans Field House DeKalb, Illinois |
| 1/8/1972 | No. 5 | at Minnesota | L 51–52 | 8–3 (0–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis |
| 1/15/1972 | No. 17 | Wisconsin | L 64–66 $^{OT}$ | 8–4 (0–2) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/22/1972 | | at Ohio State | L 74–80 | 8–5 (0–3) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| 1/29/1972 | | at Michigan State | L 73-83 | 8–6 (0–4) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, Michigan |
| 2/5/1972 | | Michigan State | W 83–69 | 9–6 (1–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/8/1972 | | Minnesota | W 61–42 | 10–6 (2–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/12/1972 | | at Wisconsin | W 84–76 $^{OT}$ | 11–6 (3–4) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2/19/1972 | | Iowa | W 86–79 | 12–6 (4–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/22/1972 | | at Illinois Rivalry | W 90–71 | 13–6 (5–4) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| 2/26/1972 | | at Purdue Rivalry | L 69–70 | 13–7 (5–5) | Purdue Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| 2/29/1972 | | No. 16 Michigan | W 79–75 | 14–7 (6–5) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 3/4/1972 | | No. 14 Ohio State | W 65–57 | 15–7 (7–5) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 3/7/1972 | No. 20 | at Northwestern | W 72–67 | 16–7 (8–5) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| 3/11/1972 | No. 20 | Purdue Rivalry | W 62–48 | 17–7 (9–5) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| NIT ||||||
| 3/18/1972* | No. 17 | vs. Princeton First Round | L 60–68 | 17–8 (9–5) | Madison Square Garden New York City |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 18 | Joby Wright | Seattle SuperSonics |